


Always On Your Side

by Shipper101



Series: Fire Empire AU [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Fire Nation Won, Bloodbending (Avatar), F/M, Family, Fire Nation Katara, Fire Nation Royal Family, Implied Attempted Suicide, P'Lis Father
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:55:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22244446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipper101/pseuds/Shipper101
Summary: When Azula is captured on a tour of the Earth Region, she is forced to learn exactly who is on her side.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Fire Empire AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602337
Kudos: 44





	1. Abandoned

**Author's Note:**

> Just an idea I had rolling around. May do more in this AU, don't know. 
> 
> Taking quite heavy influence from Ballads of a Bloodbender for Katara's character; https://archiveofourown.org/works/5008873/chapters/11510638
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The cell was cold. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised. The peasants could only hide in the mountains now, terrified of her armies. Or, her father's armies. For now at least. Uncle wouldn't even know she was here, father would never allow it. Azula sighed. Her father would never admit to her failure. She was too important to him, to his legacy. It mattered little; all that was needed was time. Her father wouldn't allow her to rot for too long. It wasn't as if he had a viable replacement. Zuko's fire bending was utterly pathetic. He could never inherit. He couldn't even summon the lighting. 

Then there was the peasant. Just another reason for Zuko to remain in disgrace. His sister- their sister- and he just couldn't leave well enough alone. She was everything he wasn't. She was powerful. She was skilled. She worked hard and fought for everything. She could have been a worthy sister to Azula, were it not for two things. Her blood was tainted, the weakness and low breeding of the Water Tribe holding her back, slowing her mind. Weakness and failure, that was all her blood granted to her. And yet, not only did she hold to those pedestrian traditions, trading in her allowance and father's favour for artefacts and relics from the ruins of the south, she went even further. 

Compassion. It ruined her. When she was young, it was acceptable. In truth, Azula enjoyed her company. She never judged her, and could almost keep up with Azula. Even though she lacked the killer instinct of a trueborn firebender, she was easily the best sparring partner Azule ever met. However, when she grew up, she became more distant. Her power grew stranger, and she brooded day in, day out. It really shouldn't have surprised the princess when her sister and Zuko started growing closer together. When they started spending every moment of their lives with one another. 

It didn't fully hit her until the fateful Agni Kai. The Emperor was furious with father. What sort of man challenges a thirteen year old boy to an Agni Kai? His own son, no less. Yet, an Agni Kai was sacred, and so the Emperor could do nought to end the duel. Azula hadn't cared at the time; the strong survived, the weak either served or died. Why should Zuko be exempt from the rules? Father's way made sense. It was truthful and honest and Azula could understand it. The Emperor felt different, but he thought like mother. 

And then she did it. Her sister, a water tribe peasant, twisted father's body, contorted his limbs, threw off his strike. Where once there was a gout of fire to end Zuzu's life, now there was a a searing scorch that would forever remain as a mark of Zuko's weakness. The fool hadn't even attempted to defend himself, just stood there and allowed father to attack him. 

But now, here she was. Alone, and trapped. Her friends were still out there. They would be looking for her. Father would be looking for her. She stifled a smug smile. There wouldn't be anywhere in the world her captors could hide her. 

The sound of a creaking door interrupted her thoughts. In stepped one of the conquered peasants. He wore long green robes, and his hat was stupidly wide brimmed, obscuring his eyes in shadow. A scroll was clenched in his fist.

"Princess Azula. Your father has responded to our demands."

Azula smirked. 

"When I get out of here, I'm going to come back and kill you all."

The man's response wiped the smirk right off her face, as he raised the scroll up to his eyes.

"By the authority of his Imperial Majesty, Phoenix King Iroh, I, Fire Regent Ozai, proclaim this message.  
By her actions, my daughter Azula revoked her right to my aid and to my name. By her failure, Azula is hereby stripped of her rank and title as Crown Princess of the Fire Empire and is declared an outcast from the Empire. As neither a member of my house or a citizen of the Empire, she is worthy of neither the time of the Army nor the wealth of the State, and as such, your ransom demands are refused in entirety. By the law of Agni, the Imperial Will be done.  
All rebels are traitors, and by the light of Agni all hearts will be revealed.  
This is the Will of the Empire."

Azula felt something break. He had abandoned her. She was... she was nothing now. She had failed him. She was a failure. Even Zuko stood above her now. She felt the burning behind her eyes, a throbbing behind her temple. 

She barely even registered the door closing, as the tears flowed, and she screamed into the empty cell.


	2. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you have no-one else, who do you have?

The door glared at her, the bolts scowling at her from their dark seated perches. The heavy wooden thing loomed in the darkness, the thin grate over the only window in her cell shining a weak light across the cell. The shadows in the corners seemed to loom larger over her head. 

244.

244 days. 244 days after her father abandoned her. 244 days after she became worthless. 

244 days after even her bending betrayed her. Even the guards had something of a laugh about that. They came in to give her food, and her attempt to strike them down produced nothing more than a pitiful little puff of flame. 

They hadn't even bothered chaining her up after that. She was useless, a girl of thirteen. Acrobatic, physically capable, but weak. No threat to the trained killers that kept her captive. When she wasn't taunting her, Ursa whispered titbits of information into her ear. Whispering of the Dai Li. Of rebellion. Of gossip from the region. Sometimes the whispers were hopeful, sometimes just resigned. Every time, Azula raged and screamed, trying desperately to drive her mother away. The whispers would go away, but they would always return. 

Instead of scheming, Azula raged. Zuko wouldn't ever be in this position. Neither would Katara. Neither would Uncle Iroh, or even, Agni forbid, Father. Only her. Screaming, roaring, howling, she allowed herself to let go entirely. 

That was two hundred days ago. 

Now she sat in her cell, her arms bone barely covered with flesh, her skin scored with scrapes and welts, her hair mangy and overgrown, she waited. Sat, wallowing in her misery. She ate whatever the guards would bring her, drank whatever dank, fetid water was provided, and then disappeared into the murkiness of the cell. What would her pride help her now? Nobody was coming. Nobody cared. Why would they? This was exactly what she would have done if she had needed to respond to someone's ransom message. She was too weak. Too pathetic.

Except, this night, she was roused from her slumber by the a distant thundering. The walls of her cell shook, as if the mountain itself was groaning. Shout echoed down the hall, and Ursa sat, smiling immaculately down at her from the window. Grimacing, Azula rolled onto her side. Ursa's presence was rarely a good thing, whispering sibilant into her ear.

"Did you hear, Azula? Someone is coming here. Someone is coming to save your worthless hide. You're going to get out. To see Ozai again. Aren't you excited?"

At the sound of father's name emerging from mother's lips, Azula's blood froze. If Father sent forces to rescue her, it would be because she had failed so utterly that he felt the need to make an example of her. As if her humiliation just wasn't enough. 

She needed to get out.

\---

Zuko flowed through the Dai Li. They were sluggish, and every single one of them seemed surprised when he closed the distance to them rather than falling back on firebending forms. From the agonised screams behind him, Katara was clearly demonstrating why Imperial Propaganda called her the Traitor's Bane. While he hadn't been sure about this mission, Katara had not relented, and the Emperor's support was of great value. Even now, the immense combustion bender was thoroughly demolishing the outskirts of the mountain fortress.

He would have to remember to thank Lady Beifong for her assistance. Then again, the price he and Katara already paid was steep indeed, and she had rather left the hard part to them. Again again, she would probably prefer to be here, in the thick of it, than being forced to sit back at the mansion and simply learn of the events after the fact. 

He resolved to just invite her to court for a friendly spar when he returned home.

His swords flashed like lighting as he carved through the two large, hulking earthbenders, before he rounded a corner. 

Five Dai Li stood before him, a massive wooded door behind them as they blocked his path. He grinned. Finally, a challenge. 

Rolling forwards, the first thing the lead guard noticed was the sudden loss of his leg. The Imperial Steel carved a path through the overconfident earthbender, and then the man was on the ground, screaming, as Zuko leapt to his feet amongst the throng of rebels. Both swords lashed out- one was intercepted by a glove of rock, while the other buried itself in an unguarded neck. Releasing the trapped sword, he pulled the other free from its fleshy prison and swung at a third target. This agent was faster than his fellow, and Zuko cursed as, instead of a strike to the neck, the blade instead became stuck fast in the man's collarbone.

Releasing his second blade, abandoning it the body of the screaming agent, he moved, quick as a blur, and precisely pummelled the earth chakra of the penultimate Dai Li. The hulking man collapsed, and the disgraced prince rounded on his final healthy foe. Lunging at the prince, his strike was re-directed by Zuko's foot, and then a huge blast of fire greeted his face from Zuko's free fist. The man's hat seemed to catch the flame, and the screaming body hurtled into the wooden door. Pulling his chi back within himself, Zuko slid his back foot forwards and lunged. 

The wall of fire blew the door open, the metal within the lock melting in seconds. Charging in, Zuko saw the blood before he saw her.

\---

When Azula awoke, the world was bright. The sounds around her felt clearer, less muffled, and the air felt warm. For a few moments, she simply lay there, letting the sun warm her. Then, she remembered. The warmth of the sum immediately slammed into frozen cold within her veins. She could hear people talking nearby. Tentatively, she opened her eyes. 

The sight that greeted her was strange. They were in a clearing in some form of wood, near a stream if her ears were to be believed. A huge mountain of a man was crouched down, and engaged in frenzied conversation with somebody. The interlocutor was obscured by the giant, but she recognised the voice.

"Zuzu?"

Her voice was raspy, but evidently it was heard. The entire clearing fell silent. Then, she felt strong arms around her. Looking down, she saw the dark skin of the water tribes. The disbelief was palpable in her voice when she spoke again.

"Kat?"

The arms turned her around, and she came face to face with her sister from another nation. Blue eyes met gold, and Katara pulled her into an embrace.

"Thank you, my prince. I apologise, but I must now return to my wife."

The grunting voice of the man mountain went quiet, and he walked away, not even acknowledging Azula's presence. She couldn't bring herself to care, however, because there was Zuko. He was bigger than she remembered, a thickly muscled, powerfully built man, now, rather than a scared boy. His scar still seemed to glow red, but his face seemed gentler, less worn down by stress.

Then, her fears returned with a vengeance.

"What does father want? Why did he..."

Katara intercepted her, with a finger at her lips.

"Stop, Zula. Father doesn't know a thing. We came on our own, and Uncle Iroh sent Sozi there to help us on our way. He doesn't know we're here, and he doesn't have to know anything you don't wnat him to."

Azula blinked. She had never been so confused. They were here? Katara and Zuzu? Because they chose to be? She couldn't help herself.

"Why? Why would you come for me?"

Katara opened her mouth to answer, but Zuko walked up to them and cut her off by pulling them both into a hug.

"You're our sister, Zula. We'd never just leave you to rot."

Azula could do nothing but cry, and they held her close, letting her tears fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there it is! I am uming an ahing about changing the rating, but I meant this to be mostly a comfort piece. Recently re-watched ATLA and, while I still prefer LOK, I remembered why it was such a fantastic series. Azula and Zuko are such fantastic characters for a children's show, and Ozai is such a tool. 
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think!


End file.
